Visa expands stablecoin payouts for eligible Visa Direct clients using Zerohash rails

Visa is broadening how some customers can use stablecoins for payouts, allowing eligible Visa Direct clients to prefund accounts and send payouts denominated in stablecoins through Zerohash-linked rails, according to a report by Decrypt.

Visa Direct is the company’s program designed for card and account-to-account disbursements, including faster payout flows used by businesses such as marketplaces, banks, and fintech partners. In this update, the stablecoin leg is intended to support payout execution while Visa remains the primary rails connecting into its broader payments network.

Under the approach described in the report, clients that meet the program’s eligibility requirements can fund their payout accounts in advance, then route stablecoin payouts via Zerohash rails. Prefunding is a practical change because it can reduce friction at payout time, when operators may otherwise need to acquire and convert assets on the fly.

The announcement reflects a continuing effort by Visa to expand the role of digital assets in everyday payments. Over the past few years, Visa has tested and rolled out pilots and partnerships that use blockchain networks for aspects of transfer and settlement, while emphasizing that final movement of value depends on compliance, risk controls, and payment-system integration.

For market participants, the most immediate takeaway is that Visa is not treating stablecoins as a separate “parallel” payments world. Instead, it appears to be positioning stablecoin payouts as another option within Visa Direct’s disbursement framework, potentially making it easier for eligible partners to offer near-instant disbursements without fully redesigning their payout operations.

Still, the report does not provide details that would typically matter for evaluating the commercial scope of such a rollout, such as which stablecoins are supported, the specific jurisdictions covered, whether payouts are limited to particular payment corridors, or how pricing and settlement timing compare with traditional rails. It also does not clarify whether Zerohash involvement is limited to payout rails only or extends to other stages of the process.

What to watch next is whether Visa publishes additional guidance on eligibility criteria and supported assets, and whether more partners are announced as being onboarded. For customers and counterparties, the pace and transparency of partner expansion will likely determine how much of a practical change the update represents versus a limited enhancement for a small set of clients.